The Defendant In My Case Says I Failed To Mitigate Damages. What Does That Mean?

When a personal injury occurs in New Orleans, the injured party has a duty to mitigate his or her damages. This means that the injured person must take reasonable steps to minimize the consequences of the injury. A plaintiff’s failure to mitigate damages may reduce the amount awarded in a personal injury lawsuit.

If the defendant contends that the plaintiff has failed to mitigate damages, the burden is on the defendant to prove it. Whether the plaintiff has used reasonable care is analyzed by the judge or jury in terms of the specific circumstances of each case, including factors such as time, knowledge, opportunity, potential exposure to further loss and the expense required to avoid a reasonably foreseeable loss.

If you have suffered a personal injury, you should be aware that any unreasonable refusal to submit to medical treatment recommended by a competent medical authority might be seen as a failure to mitigate damages. When determining the reasonableness of a plaintiff’s refusal to submit to specific medical treatment, the judge or jury weighs the risk and expense of the treatment against the likelihood of success. An injured person who is found to have unreasonably refused medical treatment is not entitled to recover for any aggravation of his or her initial condition resulting from such refusal.

If you have been receiving medical treatment for a personal injury and have any questions regarding this topic, please feel free to call my office at (504) 527-8767.